In 1964, Dante N. Bini built the first hemispherical thin shell structure by pneumatically and automatically lifting all the necessary construction materials, which were distributed horizontally over a pneumatic form anchored to a circular ring beam, from ground level into an hemispherical dome typically having an elliptical section. After the initial ground preparation was finished, that concrete thin shell structure was erected via air pressure in 60 minutes.
The term, Binishells, was previously used to refer to a type of hemispherical and/or elliptical thin shell structure. Specifically, the Binishells originally referred to a reinforced concrete structure erected over a circular footing ring beam and fabricated by pouring concrete on an inflatable pre-shaped and inelastic membrane, inflating the membrane, and then allowing the resulting reinforced concrete dome to cure. This method of construction produces circular-based, monolithic, reinforced concrete shell structures, with hemispherical and/or elliptical sections ranging in size from 12 to 40 meters in diameter. Over 1,500 of these Binishells-based buildings are in use in 23 countries. U.S. Pat. No. 3,462,521 entitled “Method of Erecting Structures” describes an example of a method for erecting the Binishells-structure and is incorporated by reference in its entirety.